Official MLBlog of the MLB.com Shop, where fans everywhere go to find the perfect gifts and big savings for this holiday season. Email us your Wish List from the Shop with links!

Bidding closes at midday Sunday at the MLB.com Auction for this Florida Marlins car, and someone’s going to drive away with an awesome conversation piece. This is a 1966 AMC Marlin fastback sedan that was actually used by mascot Billy the Marlin during the club’s 1997 world championship season. The one-of-a-kind car was transformed into a convertible for all fans to see Billy as he cruised around during parades and on-field ceremonies at Dolphins Stadium. All of the seats have been removed except for the driver?s side, and it’s "as is." The bid page says: "It does need work to operate but is a great memory from early Marlins history."

After reading an interesting comment thread on the Red Sox Chick blog that discusses her new jacket and baseball apparel in general, the MLB.com Gift Guru thought it would be appropriate to dish out some shopping advice to a random selection of the MLBlogs community. GG is always here to help, because we all know the best store in town for a ball fan.

(As an aside, the Gift Guru was curious about the Blyleven Home Free Collection, which has many offerings around the MLB.com Shop. The bio on her website provides some interesting background on Patty, who spent a lot of years around the game with Bert, one of the Guru’s all-time favorites.)

Baseball Geeks, the Guru suggests some even better mitts. Is there anything in the world better than getting a new glove and lathering it with shaving cream and breaking it in? That’s how they do it in the bigs.

But what does it mean to the MLB.com Shopper at this time of year? It means you can now rest assured as you order that special someone a No. 14 home jersey and a No. 24 road jersey. Otherwise you are going to be doing laundry constantly next season, unless you smell really bad to everyone in your seating section. Customized jerseys have become a fact of life at 30 MLB ballparks, and the Gift Guru knows from email correspondence that some of you have closets that are jammed with customized jerseys the way Paris Hilton’s closets are loaded with shoes.

Why do we love customized jerseys so much? For many of us, it traces back to those days in youth baseball when we were given new uniforms each spring. There is something about these authentic and replica jerseys that make us harken back, feeling the thickness of the stitched-on block letters and numbers, seeing the precision of pinstripes and markings, feeling the pride as we step into the stadium and sense a shared spirit with other fans who are wearing the same item.

If you are an Astros fan, you never felt more at home than when you were wearing a No. 22 Roger Clemens home jersey during the last World Series. They were literally everywhere at Minute Maid Park. That is part of the thrill, a feeling like you are part of a team.

These days, it is important to have an easy, reliable place to keep up with the times. If you are a Toronto Blue Jays fan, then you were able to instantly go to the MLB.com Shop and order a No. 52 B.J. Ryan home jersey for either yourself or as the perfect holiday gift. Just select the style of jersey, the size, and the player’s name and number, and someone is set for 2006.

Important note: The deadline for ordering customized jerseys is 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 13 — if you want one shipped by Dec. 24. Keep that in mind as you watch the Winter Meetings activity and continue your holiday shopping.

Today’s Gift Recipient Case Study is the Fan Who Always Wanted To Be A Major Leaguer. And that probably includes everyone here.

Now there is an extraordinary opportunity for that person to do something about it, and the Gift Guru will show you how to let that person live out his or her dreams with a one-of-a-kind holiday present. Do you think that special someone on your list could dig playing at Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park next summer? Putting on a Major League uniform in those clubhouses? Being tended to by coaches like Bret Saberhagen, MLB trainers and traveling secretaries? Swinging personalized wooden bats at Monument Park or the Green Monster? And traveling from stadium to stadium on charter jets and buses?

The Guru is not kidding. This is all really possible now. Entries are being accepted for the first Ultimate Experiences East Coast Tour next July 16-22. It costs $11,995, is officially licensed by Major League Baseball, and will let the participant live exactly like a Major Leaguer for a week. Visit the Ultimate Experiences website or phone 1-818-591-1515 for more information or to at least leave a deposit to sign up that special someone. With a maximum of roughly 120 participants per tour, these tour openings will not last long — especially when you consider where you will be playing:

Turner Field in AtlantaShea Stadium in New YorkYankee Stadium in New YorkFenway Park in Boston

Yes, they cost a pretty penny to enter, but the clubs don’t exactly give up full use of their stadium for free and you know the price of jet fuel. This is for the fan who wants to live out his or her dream. Just ask Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton, who is a Partner in the California-based Ultimate Experiences venture.

"There are people whose lives are all about responsibilities," Hamilton said. "That’s really what all of our lives are like. But you get to a point where you need to acknowledge this and do something about it for yourself.

"In your daily life, if you said, ‘I’m going to take part of my day and go focus on baseball,’ people would get really mad at you — it would look like you’re not working. But it’s time to pay respect to that part of yourself and have a really great time with something like this.

"I talked to a lot of people who would say, ‘Oh, I used to play guitar in college and never made it.’ They put the guitar away for some reason and never play it. This is an idea for people to get reacquainted with the idea that they really love it. … The idea of being on tour with 100 or 120 other people who feel the same way as you, flying together on jets set up exclusively on tour, it’s really great. When we travel, we charter a small jet that’s big enough just for the band and a few people. You don’t go through the parking garage where the rest of the cattle are going. You get there and you’re on your new plane with all these people who love what you’re loving, and you fly off to a new destination."

The moment the Yankees gave their OK to have The House That Ruth Built included in an Ultimate Experiences tour, the phones started ringing a lot more often at this company’s headquarters in Calabasas. If you want to give yourself this gift or give it to someone else, the Guru suggests acting now. This one is truly an ultimate gift for anyone who wanted to be a Major Leaguer.

MLB.COM REGISTERS SIGNIFICANT YEAR OVER YEAR SALES INCREASE ON CYBER
MONDAY

New York, NY, November 29, 2005 —MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, said that sales to its online store rose 220 percent yesterday, over last year?s first Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. The significant jump in sales came on an increase of 200 percent in traffic to the MLB.com Shop.

Today’s shopping case study is the music lover. And that
pretty much covers everyone on your list, doesn’t it? Here are some
suggestions:

Oh Say Can You Sing is a CD/DVD featuring 11 tracks performed by past and
present Major Leaguers, licensed by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players
Association. It costs $17.99 at the MLB.com Shop and here’s the news flash: These
guys are actually pretty good, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to
the players’ favorite charities. So you’re also helping some worthwhile causes.

"The overwhelming response has been totally
positive," said Scott Schorr, who produced the album for Good Sports
Recordings. "A special thanks must go to all our participating Major
League players, who did an A-plus job."

Jimmy Buffett: Live at Fenway Park. Bet you didn’t know that the man from Margaritaville was responsible for removing that Curse of the Bambino in 2004. Order this CD/DVD set through MLB.com and you will believe it. This is a must-have for every Red Sox fan, every Parrothead, and everyone who just likes to drift into a tropical state of mind sometimes. You can sample some tracks through MLB.com’s partnership with Buffett, and enter a contest to win free 2006 Opening Day tickets and get a 2004 Red Sox World Champion cap just for ordering.

Scott Stapp: The Great Divide. Order someone special this brand-new CD from the former voice of Creed, and you are entered for a chance to win a pair of tickets to see him in concert and roundtrip airfare to get you and that person to the show. Stapp swung by the MLB.com studios recently to tape two new music videos for us, and the Gift Guru will highly recommend seeing him in person.

MLB.com Mobile ringtones. Load up your friend’s phone with the same songs that are played when your favorite players step up to the plate. Be part of the ever-growing generation of fans who are signing up for MLB.com Mobile team alerts while you are there.

City of Champions: The Best of Boston Sports DVD. You would want this just to hear the incredible soundtracks from Aerosmith and others. But it’s still a great gift for anyone who grew up on Beantown sports, and this one was produced by the son of the late and legendary Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most.

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